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Arts

Works of art made with plastic trash

Plastic, plastic everywhere: littering our beaches, swirling into a giant island in the middle of the Pacific, landing in the bellies of birds and marine beasts. Artists are trying to prevent that with unique works.

The art of plastic

Sand toys into sculptures

Sunny days spent building sand castles may lose their luster when your realize those plastic shovels and rakes will one day end up in the ocean. Washed Ashore hopes to draw awareness to the plastic problem with colorful sea creature sculptures made of toys that have washed up on Oregon beaches. Conceived by artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi, the sculptures are around four meters long and three tall.

The art of plastic

Monsters by Joan Miro

The Spanish artist Joan Miro (1893-1983) spent his later days on the island of Mallorca. On walks along the beach, the sculptor collected items that had washed ashore and set to work creating monster-like sculptures. Painted brilliant, mostly primary colors, the artworks took on unusual shape, many of which were life-sized and given human features.

The art of plastic

Trash People

Cologne-based artist HA Schult has become famous for his Trash People sculptures, such as those shown above in a building footprint near Berlin's Friedrichswerder Church. Using compacted trash, including soda bottles, the artist has placed rows of these life-size sculptures in natural environments such as in the desert near the Egyptian pyramids to draw awareness to their blight on landscapes.

The art of plastic

Masking the plastic

Ghana-born artist Ed Franklin Gavua has made a name for himself creating Yiiiiikakaii masks out of waste. "My art work is used to create awareness for people to rethink how the waste they or their community makes, is used," he told DW. The masks, which usually take about a day to make, are unique and contain only materials that had originally been tossed away.

The art of plastic

A plastic castle

Canadian Robert Bezeau built this fortress on Isla Colon, the main island of Bocas del Toro province in Panama. With medieval elements, the castle is made of around 40,000 recycled plastic PET bottles stuffed inside a steel frame and cemented over. Decorating its facade are artworks illustrating how the world's oceans are being polluted.

The art of plastic

Fancy fishing line footwear

Plastic in our oceans is not only something that artists have been concerned with; clothing companies as well are making concerted efforts to reduce waste. The sportswear company Adidas found one unique way to recycle the rubbish that already exists with its Adidas x Parley line of shoes, which launched in 2016. The sneakers are decorated with yarn made of reused plastic fishing nets.

The art of plastic

Plastic Bag Monster

Dealing with the problem of plastic has long been on the EU's agenda. In 2011, the work Plastic Bag Monster, comprising 40,000 used plastic bags and 7,500 plastic cups, was put up in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. Many member states have since taken steps to ban the use of plastic bags. A draft law, if passed, could see the body banning single-use plastic like straws.

Author: Courtney Tenz

The art of plastic

Sand toys into sculptures

Sunny days spent building sand castles may lose their luster when your realize those plastic shovels and rakes will one day end up in the ocean. Washed Ashore hopes to draw awareness to the plastic problem with colorful sea creature sculptures made of toys that have washed up on Oregon beaches. Conceived by artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi, the sculptures are around four meters long and three tall.

The art of plastic

Monsters by Joan Miro

The Spanish artist Joan Miro (1893-1983) spent his later days on the island of Mallorca. On walks along the beach, the sculptor collected items that had washed ashore and set to work creating monster-like sculptures. Painted brilliant, mostly primary colors, the artworks took on unusual shape, many of which were life-sized and given human features.

The art of plastic

Trash People

Cologne-based artist HA Schult has become famous for his Trash People sculptures, such as those shown above in a building footprint near Berlin's Friedrichswerder Church. Using compacted trash, including soda bottles, the artist has placed rows of these life-size sculptures in natural environments such as in the desert near the Egyptian pyramids to draw awareness to their blight on landscapes.

The art of plastic

Masking the plastic

Ghana-born artist Ed Franklin Gavua has made a name for himself creating Yiiiiikakaii masks out of waste. "My art work is used to create awareness for people to rethink how the waste they or their community makes, is used," he told DW. The masks, which usually take about a day to make, are unique and contain only materials that had originally been tossed away.

The art of plastic

A plastic castle

Canadian Robert Bezeau built this fortress on Isla Colon, the main island of Bocas del Toro province in Panama. With medieval elements, the castle is made of around 40,000 recycled plastic PET bottles stuffed inside a steel frame and cemented over. Decorating its facade are artworks illustrating how the world's oceans are being polluted.

The art of plastic

Fancy fishing line footwear

Plastic in our oceans is not only something that artists have been concerned with; clothing companies as well are making concerted efforts to reduce waste. The sportswear company Adidas found one unique way to recycle the rubbish that already exists with its Adidas x Parley line of shoes, which launched in 2016. The sneakers are decorated with yarn made of reused plastic fishing nets.

The art of plastic

Plastic Bag Monster

Dealing with the problem of plastic has long been on the EU's agenda. In 2011, the work Plastic Bag Monster, comprising 40,000 used plastic bags and 7,500 plastic cups, was put up in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels. Many member states have since taken steps to ban the use of plastic bags. A draft law, if passed, could see the body banning single-use plastic like straws.

Author: Courtney Tenz

Many people seem to be in agreement that there is too much plastic in use and nowhere for it to go once it's no longer needed. Those plastic toys, soda bottles and used toothbrushes need to land somewhere once they're tossed out — and often, that means they end up on beaches and in the ocean.

With the protection of the environment high on their agenda, members of the European Commission have been looking at ways to reduce the amount of plastic in circulation. After proposing that individual member states find ways to reduce the use of plastic bags, in 2014, the European Parliament passed a directive calling for a reduction in these bags use by 50 percent by 2017 and 80 percent by 2019.

Now the EU Commission is planning a ban on plastic wasteand is looking into strategies to reduce single-use plastic — items including coffee cups and lids, plasticware and to-go food containers. Brussels' priority, Frans Timmermans told The Guardian and other newspapers, was to chip away at the amount of throwaway plastics, "that take five seconds to produce, you use it for five minutes and it takes 500 years to break down again."

Artists and designers around the globe have been looking at creative ways to reuse the plastic that's already landed on beaches. Surrealist Spanish artist Joan Miro (1893-1983) collected the rubbish that washed ashore on the beaches of Mallorca on his morning walks and turned them into colorful monster-like sculptures. Ghana-born artist Ed Franklin Gauva turns trash into Yiiiiikakaii masks. And the sportswear company Adidas created a line of sneakers that employed recycled fishing nets into the Adidas x Parley line, aimed at drawing awareness to ocean pollution.

Have a look in the picture gallery above to see the innovative ways other artists are reusing plastic in their work.

Alternatives to single-use plastics

Stop sucking

Billions of plastic straws end up as waste. The European Union wants to ban these and other single-use plastics, which end up in rubbish dumps or in our oceans. But for those who just can't stop sucking — like Marco Hort, who set a world record with 259 straws stuffed in his mouth — there are environmentally friendly alternatives.

Alternatives to single-use plastics

Drink it, eat it

Animals in the ocean often try to eat plastic straws. To protect the environment, you can now eat the straw yourself. The German startup Wisefood has developed an edible straw made out of the leftovers from Germany's apple juice production. Alternatively, you can also acquire a multiple-use straw made from metal, bamboo or glass.

Alternatives to single-use plastics

We are forked!

There are no exact numbers of how many plastic forks, knives and spoons are used once and then dumped. But it's enough for the EU to want to say goodbye to them. If you need to eat on the run and can't use metal silverware, you might try edible versions. The Indian startup Bakey's offers forks made out of sorghum; the US company SpudWares, out of potato starch. Yummy!

Alternatives to single-use plastics

No leftovers

Talking about eating your plastic alternatives: You might also like to try edible plates, since plastic plates will be on the way out under the EU's ban. The Polish company Biotrem has developed plates made from bran. In case you are already full from your meal, don't worry: The plates are organic and decompose after 30 days.

Alternatives to single-use plastics

Cut the cup

Besides banning the private use of disposable plastic products, the EU aims to encourage fast food chains, cafes and bars to curb the use of plastic cups. Half a trillion plastic cups are consumed every year — most of them being used for a single drink, then staying in the environment for eternity. Several companies now offer plant-based alternatives.

Alternatives to single-use plastics

It's not plastic

One of those companies is the Balinese startup Avani. It has developed a compostable bioplastic made from corn starch. Although, the cups look and feel like petroleum-based plastic cups, they are biodegradable. However, they decompose best in a commercial composting facility, and not in your backyard

Alternatives to single-use plastics

Reuse, reuse, reuse

The easiest way to replace plastic cups is by using reusable mugs. But we might not always have our personal coffee cups on hand while we are out on the streets. Berlin is among German cities testing out a pilot project allowing coffee aficionados to borrow a reusable bamboo mug for a small deposit, and return it at another cafe at a later point.

Alternatives to single-use plastics

Clean ears, dirty oceans

Another plastic product the EU would see gone are ear buds. When disposed of improperly, they end up in the ocean, where animals mistake them for food. There are plastic-free alternatives with the stem made from bamboo or paper. But hardcore environmentalists say it's best to stop using them altogether — you can use your towel to clean your ears.